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Site Policy

Cincyreef.com and its forums are dedicated to hobbyists of all ages. In an effort to clearly define all policies regarding posting, user profiles, and general forum behavior, The Cincinnati Reefkeepers Society has drafted this policy.

Please read these policies before posting and be sure to check them often, as they are subject to change without notice.

Official Site Policy

I. User Profile Policy

Registered Users
Are allowed only one registered user name (nic) at a time, multiple nics to the same registered user is prohibited, multiple nics will be deleted, Staff are excluded - secondary nics are required to test functionality of the site.

User names and Signatures
User names may not contain vulgar or abusive language.

Avatars
Must be appropriate for all family members. Must also abide by the Signature policy.

II. General Posting Policy

Proper Forum
All posts must be in the proper forum. That is why there are many different forums on this site. Off limit topics are Off limit! Period.

Language
A word filter is in use on this board and actively searches for and replaces inappropriate words. Attempting to circumvent the word filter with alternate spellings will result in a warning and and edit of your post. Future violations may result in your account being suspended.

Images
You may upload images in the appropriate categories on this site. Generally they are restricted to saltwater/reef related images. Inside your personal photo gallery you may upload any pictures that you choose, however you are not allowed to upload nude, semi-nude, offensive, copyrighted or other questionable images to any category on this site. Failure to comply with this will result in immediate and permanent suspension of your account.

Commercial Posts
Posts by members attempting to market/advertise a business are not allowed. If you have a website, automatic ordering, accept credit cards or regularly sell your product on Ebay or Ebay type websites, you are considered commercial and posts of an advertising nature will be removed. The buy/sell/trade forum is for members who are selling items or buying items in low quantity. If you are selling large/bulk quantities of any item you will be considered a commercial business. Ultimately the decision of wether or not you are classified as a commercial entity is left up to the moderators/Board of Directors.

Prohibited Posting Practices

All of the examples following are prohibited:

Double Posting. The practice of posting the same post in two or more forums with the hope that more readers will see your post or thread.

Thread Hijacking. The practice of inserting a post into a thread which has nothing to do with the thread or disrupts the subject of the thread.

ALL CAPS. This is generally considered shouting and furthermore makes posts difficult to read.

Posting of Private MessagesPrivate Messages are, as indicated, private. Posting of a PM or any part of one in the open forums is generally discouraged and could be considered a breach of trust by the sender and be grounds for administrative action.

Posting of Personal InformationThe posting of personal information in anyway shape or form will not be tolerated.

Bashing and FlamingThere has never been a clear definition of what is considered "bashing" but basically if you haven't got something nice to say, don't say anything at all. Bashing an individual or any site will not be tolerated at Cincyreef. Such posts or threads will be removed at the discretion of the staff. The purpose of this site is for the education of reefkeeping for all ages.

Re-postingIf your post or thread disappears, it is for a good reason. Posting it again, especially at a time when you think it will escape notice by the moderators, is not acceptable.

III. Forum-Specific Policies

Each forum has its own guidelines as to what material is appropriate. Please read forum guidelines before posting.

IV. Mod/Admin Discretion

The administrator and moderators may, at their sole discretion; move, edit, or delete any post considered being inappropriate for either the site or a particular forum. Most moderation activity involves judgment on the part of the moderator. If you feel a post has been wrongly deleted, moved, or edited, send a PM to that moderator and do not post your grievance in the forums.

The administrators from time to time may have the need to access your user acct, in certain instances. These instances could be but are not limited to your user id having issues displaying correct, your user id acting funny, your user id disappears etc.. This action may or may not preceded with warning to you the member but will always be followed up with a pm to let you know it took place. If you believe your acct has been inappropriately accessed please change your password and let us know immediately.

V. Private Messages (PMs)

It must be stated, that Cincyreef has an obligation to its members to protect their interests, and to protect the site integrity as a whole. This includes protection from phishing, scamming, criminal activity, and any other actions which may compromise or harm the site or its members.

With this in mind, Cincyreef may be required to access certain individuals' PMs in the event of reasonable suspicion of wrong doing. Although legally all electronic data, including PMs, on this site are fully accessible without warrant via ownership rights by the administration, such an action should only be necessary in extreme situations. In the event a PM should be read, the parties involved will be informed after the fact, of course.

We would hope this is not necessary, but we also want to keep all members informed of our policies put in place for everyone's protection.